Closing the loop on minute-taking

The meeting may be over, but the minute-taker’s job goes on. After you’ve spruced up your notes and formatted the document, you’ll need to make sure all corrections are made to the final version before filing it as a formal record.

At the group’s next meeting, you may hear corrections to the minutes, says Joan Burge, founder and CEO of Office Dynamics.

“Follow the legal requirements of your organization in correcting the minutes,” she says. “If no special requirements are indicated, then follow this procedure”:

Draw a red- or black-ink line through the incorrect wording.

Write the correction in ink above the line, and specify in the margin at which meeting the correction was made. Include the initials of the person making the correction, as well as the meeting date, in the margin.

Use a separate page for large corrections.

If attaching a separate sheet, write that information in ink in the margin of the minutes. The corrections will need to be signed by the secretary, chair or meeting leader.

Keep minutes in chronological order, and store them in a place that others can access. Or, if they need to be locked, be sure stakeholders know where the key is.

Keep an index.

Keep an index of everything in one place. When you are filing the minutes, make sure to include all handouts and the agenda.

Bonus tip: For visual presentation, keep it simple. A straightforward style is more attractive than pages marked with repetitive asterisks and underscores. It’s the information that people are interested in.

Nationally renowned speaker, author and trainer Joan Burge will take you from pre-meeting preparation to post-meeting follow-up – giving you a comprehensive overview of the minute-taking process, and providing the skills that you can put to work immediately.

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